Brookdale Senior Living is revisiting its benefits policies for same-sex couples after an employee filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January. The worker alleged that Brookdale denied health benefits to her wife after the couple got married in Connecticut.

Federal investigators have been looking into Medicaid billing practices at senior living giant Emeritus Corp. for more than a year. Investigative journalism outlet ProPublica first reported the story Thursday, and an Emeritus spokeswoman confirmed to McKnight's that the probe is occurring.

Brookdale Senior Living and Emeritus Senior Living will merge through a $2.8 billion deal, in a move that Brookdale CEO T. Andrew Smith said will be "transformative for the industry." The expanded Brookdale will consist of more than 1,100 communities in 46 states, making it the nation's largest senior living company, executives said.